In virtually all northern tier states and provinces snow removal is a major winter problem. In many areas, snow does not melt until spring. Removing snow from streets and roads takes an enormous amount of tax dollars. Equipment is used to plow the snow into ditches or uniform rows. Snow blowers and loaders are then used to move snow from the roads into off road ditches, lawns, or into dump trucks, for hauling the snow to large open snow dumps. In some locations these dump sites store piles of snow forty feet high or more. At these dumps, more equipment is needed to push the snow into piles and to keep the piles managed. Such activities cost communities dearly
Even in rural areas, where snow removal is not as problematic, finding places to store snow can be difficult. Moreover, the cost of the equipment for rural snow removal and storage is also expensive.
My previous patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,231 is a self-contained snow removal device. It uses a truck chassis or large tractor-trailer frame to hold a heavy duty snow blower, which is mounted on the front of the tractor. A duct carries the snow from the blower into a large hopper. A series of components is nested in the hopper as follows: A screen is placed near the top of the hopper to catch debris. Below the screen are two separate heater pipe systems that circulate hot water. Below the pipe systems is a series of pyramid heaters. Below the pyramid heaters is a catch basin to hold the melted snow (as water) at the bottom of the hopper. This water is then pumped into a tank, mounted on the back of the truck trailer. Hot water is provided by a pair of boilers also mounted on the trailer. Fuel for the boilers and the associated electrical equipment are also stored aboard the truck. The hopper is covered to prevent the snow from being blown out of the hopper, as well as keeping the heat within the hopper.
Although this design is compact, it melts snow too slowly for practical commercial operation. Thus, once the hopper is filled with snow, the truck must wait to melt the snow before it can continue. This increases the operating time per mile to an unacceptable level.